Vincent Tan, who is commonly believed to have control of B&B Enterprises, to which the MoF privatised Sports Toto in 1985, has refused to comment on a World Bank report that on the privatisation which describes B&B as "A PRIVATE BUMIPUTERA-OWNED FIRM". Might the MoF clarify the matter?

Sports Toto was privatised in 1985 to a private BUMIPUTERA company called B&B Enterprises, says a report on privatisation published by the World Bank.

The authors of the 1994 report relied on publicly available information as well as interviews with Berjaya Sports Toto's managing director and general manager.

B& B Enterprises remains today a substantial shareholder of Berjaya Group Bhd; the BGroup Annual Reports show B&B to be
a company controlled by Vincent Tan, Berjaya's executivechairman and controlling shareholder.Vincent is said , even
in some of his own BGroup annual reports, to be the person to whom Sports Toto was privatised.

The report raises questions as to how Vincent's B&B Enterprises came to be a classified as a Bumiputera company.

The report is entitled "Welfare Consequences of Selling Public Enterprises"  , and states at page 373 that "the divestiture of Sports Toto was carried out between B&B Enterprises (a private Bumiputera-owned firm) and a .....governemnt working committee following a bid by the former." The report goes onto state that B&B bought 70% of Sports Toto for RM 28 million (pe of 3.1), and sold 10 percentage points of that stake to Melewar Corp Bhd. After listing in 1987, B&B retained 45%, the Government its 30%,
while Melewar sold its stake. By November 1987 , Berjaya Group had purchased 52% of the listed company, and the
Government had sold its 30% to Raleigh Cycles Bhd for RM 85 million, while B&B retained its 45%.
 

Today, BGroup retains about 52% of Sports Toto S/B via BToto and BLand, while B&B does not appear as a direct shareholder.